Future Antiques

Finally, look to the fringes for other finds. For example, maybe the print run for the anti-Potter documentary Witchcraft Repackaged — Making Evil Look Innocent was as excruciatingly small and insignificant as the opposition itself. In that case, such a documentary and other related items could in time lead to the darling profits you dreamed about.

Autographs of the reclusive

Living actors and other celebrities whose autographs are not easy to obtain for whatever reason have great potential as future antiques. This is especially true if they’re more than a simple signed photo, or bear some greater historical significance.

The reclusive lifestyle of novelist Thomas Pynchon has given signed copies of his novels both scarcity and high value. For example, a signed copy of Gravity’s Rainbow can run into the low thousands of dollars. The same holds true for mega-recluse J.D. Salinger and an autographed copy of Catcher in the Rye (up to $30,000). The inherent risk is obvious: The day after you drop your life savings on one of these books, the authors could decide to go on a signing spree and sign every copy they can find, effectively wiping out their value.

This is unlikely, but it’s part of the risk, and on the deaths of these men, it’s possible the values could skyrocket. Still, a wiser idea is to look at which celebrities shun signing autographs and then make an effort to vend desirable autographs from them. For example, Cameron Diaz and Barry Bonds are notoriously poor signers.

Finally, pay close attention to whatever the autograph is on. Autograph books are for kids; as the homes of autographs meant to be future antiques, they’re disastrous.

Investment-grade wine

As an investment in older vintages, wine has performed pretty well but even the casual collector should obtain a copy of The Wine Price File, the industry standard for wine prices going back to the early 18th century.

However, as a future antique and the object of speculation, so-called investment grade wines will typically present the least amount of risk early on. A wine is considered investment-grade on meeting four criteria: Collectors desire it to some degree, its maturity plateau is 20 years or more, its vintage is well-regarded, and it scores a 94 or higher on Robert Parker’s 100-point rating system.

First editions

Generally, but not always, a first edition (book, record, comic) will prove to be the more profitable collectible for a variety of reasons, but chiefly because the first of anything is typically the most desirable, and often, low initial print runs make them scarce. That scarcity is augmented if it only became popular many years later, as many of those original copies will have disappeared.

In books, first editions of classics hold their value well, but the notion of “future antiques” is to spot the future classics. As difficult as it is to believe, in 1997, the initial hardcover UK print run of unknown author J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was a mere 500 copies. Today, copies from that print run sell for up to $60,000. Richard Davies of AbeBooks.com calls it “one of the most sought-after contemporary items in the rare book world."

High-end limited editions can also be great future antiques to buy now and hold on to...